FEATURES

Jeffrey Lamont Brown Helps San Antonio Find Balance

Jeffrey Lamont Brown and team, Tallgrass Pictures, have a simple mission statement: to make beautiful lifestyle photographs and films for clients around the world. They aim to bring a “fresh, reality based approach” to their projects, and their personable images give versatility in advertising campaigns, from broadcast to branding, print ads and mobile projects. Before forming his team several years ago, Brown was already noted for his individual achievements over the past two decades, winning a PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, and named a Pulitzer Prize finalist as well as one of the 200 Best Photographers Worldwide by Luerzer’s Archive. He hand selected the production and design specialists of Tallgrass Pictures, creating a tight knit team that complements his style and finds its roots in authentic experiences.

It was this authenticity that caught the eye of Interlex Principle and Creative Director Heather Ruiz, who was searching for a photographer that could create relatable and inspiring images for the residents of San Antonio, Texas. The “Find Your Balance” campaign, art directed by Ruiz, is the brainchild of Interlex and its client San Antonio Metro Health. It aims to promote healthy decision making within the Texas community. San Antonio was labeled the fattest city in the United States, and the third fattest city in the world by the American Obesity Association, causing major concerns about the general lifestyles of the 1.33 million people currently residing there. The bilingual campaign was commissioned by the City of San Antonio, with funding from the CDC, and is part of a larger effort to motivate citizens to exercise and eat healthier.

Ruiz contacted Tallgrass Pictures after receiving an e-mail from their marketing program targeted towards lifestyle buyers. She commented, “Jeffrey was a must have for our project. I knew our audience needed to link to the emotion in our ads. They needed to understand the subjects were more than faces, they were humans struggling with their same issues.” The resulting images are both uplifting and real. They match the campaign’s aim to encourage people in a positive manner, instead of projecting fearful statistics or appearing as a public service announcement. The campaign will run across the city in television commercials, billboards, transit, web and print advertisements in both English and Spanish.

Brown credits the smooth five-day shoot to a well-planned pre-production, a strong creative team and an agency that knew exactly what they wanted. He and the Tallgrass team look forward to collaborating with Interlex again in the future – he and Ruiz have already started brainstorming ideas for new projects including photo shoots, commercials and feature films.

Currently also in the works from Jeffrey Lamont Brown is his third photo book, which is in post-production. The book is for Project Concern International and the Gem Foundation, and raises awareness about HIV/AIDS and microfinance in the developing world. To see more of his work, click here.